How Concrete Became Art Automatic translate

Concrete is a composite material known to mankind for thousands of years. Its basis is a mixture of a binder, water and fillers. Most often, cement acts as a binder. When hardened, this mixture forms a strong stone conglomerate. Initially, the value of concrete was solely in its functionality: it allowed the creation of strong and durable structures of almost any shape (about the variety of shapes here: klvrt.com ). This purely practical material, it would seem, is far from fine arts, but its history turned out to be much more complex and interesting.

Origins: Ancient Experiments

The predecessors of modern concrete appeared in ancient times. Many civilizations experimented with binders: for example, the Egyptians used gypsum with lime to bind stone blocks together when building the pyramids. However, the material closest to the modern composition was created in Ancient Rome. The Romans discovered the unique properties of volcanic ash - pozzolana. By mixing it with lime, water and crushed stone, they obtained opus caementicium - "Roman concrete". This material became a real revolution in construction: it was highly durable and could harden even under water. The Romans used it to build aqueducts, baths and grandiose temples, including the Pantheon. Its giant dome, cast from concrete around 128 AD, remains an unrivaled masterpiece of engineering and the largest dome in the world made of unreinforced concrete.

Forgotten Secrets and Rebirth

With the fall of the Roman Empire, many of the secrets of producing quality concrete were lost. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this material was used sparingly and without the same skill. Its full-fledged revival began only in the 18th century. British engineers John Smeaton and James Parker independently conducted experiments in search of a durable hydraulic binder. Smeaton, working on the construction of the Eddystone Lighthouse, discovered the importance of the clay content in limestone during firing. In 1796, Parker patented the so-called "Roman cement" obtained from clay marls. These works laid the foundation for the creation of modern Portland cement, the invention of which in 1824 is attributed to the British mason Joseph Aspdin. He obtained a material whose color and strength resembled the famous building stone from the Isle of Portland.

Technological leap of the XIX – XX centuries

The Industrial Revolution and the development of the cement industry gave a powerful impetus to the evolution of concrete. The key invention was reinforced concrete – a brilliant symbiosis of concrete, which works in compression, and steel reinforcement, which works in tension. Although the French gardener Joseph Monier patented it back in 1867 for the manufacture of garden tubs, the true potential of the material was revealed by engineers, primarily François Hennebic and Auguste Perret. They developed the first reliable calculation methods and technologies for the construction of frame buildings from reinforced concrete.

Reinforced concrete freed architecture from the dictates of massive load-bearing walls. It became possible to create huge open spaces and light but strong structures that changed the appearance of cities forever. Concrete ceased to be just a filler - it itself became a load-bearing structure and the main means of expression.

Material for great projects

Concrete became the language of modernist and brutalist architecture. Architects of the 20th century praised its plasticity, monumentality, and honest, raw texture. Auguste Perret built the Church of Notre-Dame in Le Raincy, the first church in history to be made entirely of reinforced concrete. Le Corbusier, inspired by Perret, created such icons of modernism as the Villa Savoye and the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille. In Brazil, Oscar Niemeyer used the plasticity of concrete to create incredible futuristic forms for the National Congress building in the country’s capital. The Hoover Dam in the United States and the CN Tower in Toronto are engineering giants that demonstrate the enormous power and aesthetic possibilities of concrete.

Soviet and Russian concrete

In Russia and the USSR, concrete also found the widest application in the largest projects. Stalin’s skyscrapers in Moscow, the Ostankino TV tower, the Volga hydroelectric power station, the Baikal-Amur mainline - all these are concrete symbols of the Soviet era. The material became the basis for mass panel housing construction, which made it possible to create entire city districts in a short time.

In modern Russia, concrete remains the main building material. It is irreplaceable in large infrastructure projects - in the construction of bridges, roads, airports. Architects also continue to explore its expressiveness in new iconic buildings. For example, at the Moscow metro stations "Salaryevo" and "Rasskazovka" raw concrete surfaces become an important element of interior design.

The Birth of "Concrete Art"

In parallel with architecture, concrete also penetrated into the sphere of pure art, although the connection between them is not as obvious as it seems. It is important to distinguish between concrete as a material and Concrete Art as an artistic movement.

The term "concrete art" was introduced by the artist Theo van Doesburg in 1930. He proclaimed the creation of art completely free from imitation of nature and symbolism. Its basis was to be only abstract elements: lines, planes and colors. Such art does not "abstract" from reality, but is itself a "concrete" reality. The manifesto of this movement was published by the Swiss artist Max Bill in 1944. And although the name of the movement comes from the Latin word concretus ("condensed", "material"), and not from the English concrete, it was this material, thanks to its monumentality and plasticity, that became the favorite medium for many sculptors working in this and related styles.

Concrete as an artistic medium

Sculptors quickly appreciated the unique properties of concrete. It allowed them to cast complex monolithic forms without the expensive and complex equipment needed to work with bronze or marble. Its texture — from rough and uneven to smoothly polished — opened up wide expressive possibilities. Artists began experimenting with pigments, adding color directly to the concrete mass. Thus, concrete became an accessible and affordable material for creating monumental sculpture.

Entire parks of concrete abstractions appeared around the world. Such sculptures often entered into a dialogue with architecture and landscape, forming a single artistic environment. Concrete stopped hiding under a layer of plaster or paint — its own surface became an independent aesthetic value.

Russian artists and concrete

Concrete has also found its strong niche in Russian art. Soviet artists actively used it to create monumental monuments. Many memorials dedicated to the Great Patriotic War were made of it, including the famous monument "The Motherland Calls!" in Volgograd. Sculptor Ernst Neizvestny often turned to concrete to create his powerful, expressive and philosophically meaningful works.

Contemporary Russian artists continue to explore this material. They create both large-scale installations for public spaces and intimate objects. The texture, weight and tangible coldness of concrete become part of the artistic statement, allowing us to talk about the themes of strength and fragility, eternity and time.

Modern Horizons of Material

Technologies do not stand still. Today, new types of concrete are appearing: self-compacting, fiber concrete with the addition of reinforcing fibers, ultra-high-strength compounds (UHPC). The latter allow architects to create incredibly thin, elegant and delicate structures that were previously unthinkable. The decorative possibilities of the so-called "architectural concrete" ) arch concrete) are also actively used: it is given any texture, color, engraved.

The development of eco-friendly concrete with a reduced carbon footprint is becoming a major trend. Artists use the material not only for its form, but also for conceptual statements, commenting on the themes of industrialization, urbanism and time itself. Concrete, once a symbol of brute utilitarian force, is now capable of expressing the most subtle and complex ideas.

From functionality to poetics

The path of concrete, which began in Roman aqueducts, led it to galleries of modern art. This material has proven its amazing versatility and inexhaustible expressive potential. It has stood the test of time not only physically, but also aesthetically. Today, concrete is valued not only for its strength, but also for its plasticity, for the honesty of its texture. The surface of concrete bears traces of formwork, the touch of the master and the passage of time. People have learned to see authenticity and beauty in its apparent coldness. It has become a full-fledged participant in the dialogue between engineering, architecture and art, and its future is determined only by new technologies and the boundless imagination of creators.